The Heisman Trophy is voted annually to &quot;the outstanding college football player in the United States,&quot; but history has proved that linemen and underclassmen seldom merit serious consideration

FACES IN THE CROWD

Michael O'Shea, 17, of Limerick, Ireland and Providence College, won the New England Intercollegiate Cross Country championship. The freshman broke the record on Boston's Franklin Park five-mile course by 11 seconds with a time of 22:44.0.

Steve Valdez, 17, of East St. Louis, Ill., rode six winners in nine races during the Oak Tree meeting at Southern California's Santa Anita Park. He equaled the 11-year-old track record held jointly by Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay, and was out of the money only once.

Kimberly Christensen, 31, covered 1,004 miles, an average of more than 32 miles per day in October, to lead Dallas' Aerobics Activity Center to a national championship in the 10th October Marathon. Twelve athletic clubs throughout the country competed.

Ted Bell, a senior halfback at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, finished the regular season with 27 touchdowns and 1,825 yards rushing to lead his team into the state high school playoffs. Bell has gained 4,108 yards in three seasons.

Ann Adams, 17, senior co-captain of Athol (Mass.) High School's field hockey team, set a school single-season record with 11 goals in 14 games as the Raiderettes finished 9-2-3. A three-year varsity player, she scored 24 career goals from her left inner position.

Neils Fredborgs, 27, an amateur cyclist from Denmark, set a world record in the one-kilometer ride from a standstill start at Mexico City's Olympic Velodrome. His time of 1:04.49 was .12 seconds faster than the old mark held by Italy's Giani Sartori.